Kurds Deny Pro-Iran Media Claim of Attack on Mossad Base in Iraq

The Kurdistan Regional Government released an official statement on Wednesday denying reports in pro-Iranian media that “unknown forces” had attacked a Mossad facility and killed Israelis in northern Iraq.

“We can confirm that news reports about an attack on an Israeli intelligence facility in the region are false,” the KRG statement said.

The KRG added that no Mossad base exists in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The report, which first appeared in the Iraqi outlet Sabereen News — affiliated with Iran-backed militias in the country — claimed the attack had left a number of Israelis dead and injured.

Security sources cited in the report did not provide any details on the attack, raising widespread doubts about its authenticity. Widely regarded as implausible, the claim has been largely ignored in Israeli media.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the reports.

The reports emerged amid spiraling tensions with Iran, including at sea. In the third attack of its kind in months, the MV Hyperion Ray — which sails under the Bahamas flag — reportedly came under missile fire on Tuesday near the emirate of Fujairah on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the strike, but officials in Israel believe Iran is responsible, according to Israeli media reports.

The New York Times cited an Israeli security official saying no retaliatory attack was planned on an Iranian vessel since Israel wants to de-escalate the situation in the Persian Gulf.